DiMasi attorney filings point to motion for a new trial

Thursday

Former House Speaker Salvatore DiMasi delivered further proof Thursday that he intends to attack his conviction on corruption charges from multiple angles.

Former House Speaker Salvatore DiMasi delivered further proof Thursday that he intends to attack his conviction on corruption charges from multiple angles.

In a motion filed in U.S. District Court, DiMasi’s lawyer, Thomas Kiley, asked Judge Mark Wolf to approve funding for thousands of pages of transcripts of testimony delivered during DiMasi’s six-week trial, which ended earlier this month with convictions on seven felony counts.

Kiley said the transcripts will inform a pair of motions DiMasi intends to submit by the end of the month: a so-called Rule 29 motion to dismiss the convictions against him based on lack of evidence, as well as a motion for a new trial. Both, he said, are “motions we had envisioned and talked about.” He declined to comment on the reason for the motion for a new trial but said it would become clear next week.

Wolf rejected a Rule 29 motion that DiMasi and two codefendants filed during the trial, but Kiley suggested that the motion for a new trial may include additional arguments.

In Thursday’s motion, Kiley requested “expedited” access to the transcripts of testimony offered by Steven Topazio, DiMasi’s former law associate, and Joseph Lally, a former Cognos salesman who pled guilty in connection with the same crimes of which DiMasi was convicted. According to the motion, the cost of creating transcripts of the two witnesses’ testimony is $5,257.40.

Kiley also requested “ordinary” trial transcripts totaling 6,675 pages. He didn’t estimate the cost of producing those documents, although he noted the cost of obtaining transcripts is based on a formula laid out by the court.

Kiley has been working as a court-appointed attorney for DiMasi since March, when Wolf approved the former speaker’s request for indigent defense counsel. DiMasi was convicted last week of using his influence to engineer a pair of state contracts – a $4.5 million deal in 2006 and a $13 million deal in 2007 – for Cognos Corp., a Canadian software company.

In exchange, prosecutors said, DiMasi received $65,000 in bribes funneled through Topazio, and lobbyist Richard McDonough – also convicted for his role in the scheme – received $300,000. DiMasi’s longtime financial adviser Richard Vitale was also accused in the scheme but was acquitted on all counts.

DiMasi and McDonough were convicted of conspiracy, two counts of mail fraud and three counts of wire fraud. DiMasi was also convicted of a count of extortion.

The former speaker has promised to fight his conviction, arguing that the charges against him were based on a developing area of “honest services” law that could be overturned through an appeal.

Judge Wolf has suggested that the issues in play during DiMasi’s trial may need to be resolved by the U.S. Supreme Court.

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